College Costs More In America, But The Payoff Is Bigger

Students pay much more for a college education in the U.S. than they do in most other countries. But they also get a bigger return on their investment.

Here's a graphical breakdown comparing the cost and the payoff for a college education.

Notes

*Data for Japan are from 2007.

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

Credit: Lam Thuy Vo / NPR

A few notes:

The data come from a recently published OECD report looking at educational data around the world. The cost of education includes tuition fees and living costs paid by the student, as well as earnings that students forgo by not working while they're in school.

"Benefits" is the difference in lifetime earnings between someone with a high-school degree and someone with a college degree.

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